GORAN ZIP THE LYNX IN THE STRICT RESERVE OF BIJELE I SAMARSKE STIJENE

Map 1. The range of movement of Goran Zip the Lynx from February to October 2015.GORAN ZIP THE LYNX IN THE STRICT RESERVE OF BIJELE I SAMARSKE STIJENE

Ten months of telemetric monitoring have given us very good insight into the range of movement of Goran Zip the Lynx. Covering approximately 170 km² of the Velika Kapela mountain area, the lynx’s range of movement stretches from the Bitoraj forests across Mt Viševica all the way to Matić Poljana, from Ličko Polje in the west to Breza in the east, and in the south the range borders on the ridge running from Kobiljak to Zagradski Vrh.

Further analysis of the lynx’s movement will help us establish its preferences with regard to seasonal use of the range, particularly in the period winter-summer, with regard to varying heights of snow cover and to the migration of some of the wild animals from higher to lower regions and vice versa.

It is interesting to note that Goran Zip the Lynx was recorded twice within the southern boundary of the Strict Reserve of Bijele i Samarske Stijene. The first time was on 14 August, while its second visit to the reserve was recorded on 10 October 2015.

The data obtained also clearly indicate that the lynx tends to avoid non-forested habitats. Only once was its presence recorded in the “open” area of Ličko Polje, admittedly in the small hours of the night.

In late 2015 or, more likely, in the winter months of 2016, we expect to capture and fit yet another lynx with a GPS collar. This year the purchase of the collar was financed by PI “Priroda”.